Method and apparatus for packing flake materials



Sept. 4, 1951 E. H. CARRUTHERS 2,567,052

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKING FLAKE MATERIALS Filed Sept. 17, 1947 7 Sheets-Sheet l I v INVENTOR. T A 51551! HUME/62215? Sept. 4, 1951 E. H. CARRUTHERS 2,567,052

METHOD AND APPARATUS'FOR PACKING FLAKE MATERIALS Filed Sept. 17, 1947 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

P 1951 E. H. CARRUTHERS 2,567,052

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKING FLAKE MATERIALS Filed Sept. 17, 1947 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN T 0R.

55m HUNTER CflRRUTHHfS Sept. 4, 1951 E. H. CARRUTHERS METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKING FLAKE MATERIALS- Filed Sept. 17, 1947 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

EBE/v HU/YTE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKING FLAKE MATERIALS Filed Sept. 17, 194

Sept. 4, 1951 E. H. CARRUTHERS '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

ByEBf/V HUNT E If CARAUT HERS P 4, 1951 v E. H. CARRUTHERS 2,567,052

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKING FLAKE MATERIALS Filed Sept. 17, 1947 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR. YEBEN HUNTERCAFQUTHE/fS Sept. 4, 1951 E. H. CARRUTHERS 2,567,052

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKING FLAKE MATERIALS Filed Sept. 17, 1947 '7 Sheets-Sheet '7 INVENTOR. [BE/v HUNTER CARRUTl/[RS Patented Sept. 4, 1951 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKING FLAKE MATERIALS Eben H. Carruthers, Warrenton, Oreg. Application September 17, 1947, Serial No. 774,626

38 Claims.

My invention relates to a method and apparatus'for packing flake materials and, while not limitedto this. purpose, has been primarily developed for the purpose of packing flake tuna fish.

An, objectoi my inventionis to provide an effleie tmae ine ada ted to compr o 184 tuna into acake and pack such tuna in a an wh ch when open d by the user pr s n att ec re h mogeneou pp aranc Anoth r chie to my i ent on to pro de a meth atpae sine moist flaky mat ia in which a. comp es ion cham er i l osely filled wit s materials. her iter the ma eria s ar o e-co pressed to form a mass of uniform density, then bema si trimme te s re l m o ariveat amas oi t desi e wei n t e e atter the mass is compressed to form a cake of suflicient cohesiveness and rigidity that the cake will retain i ts cake form during packing in a can and maintain such form until the can is mpt eeier. .5.

A; further object of my invention is to providea machine adapted to compress flake tuna or other materials capable of being compressed ihtoa cake and pack a substantially uniform predetermined weight or such materials into a can.

My invention further contemplates the provision of a machine which includes a series of compression chambers which may be filled with a predetermined volume or weight of tuna in flalg'e form and compressed into a cake and then transferred to a can, the compression or the tuna being suff cient and its cohesiveness being such that'vvhen in the can, with oil, upon opening the can andinverting it, the cake of tuna will drop out of the can as a whole cake.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be set forth in the claims and will be apparent iromthe following description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of the machine of my invention with the compression chambers or cylinders thereof unrolled better to illustrate the operation or the machineand the method of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation or the machine showing the filling side of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the machine with parts'broken away so as to illustrate in greater detail important parts of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a partial top plan view of the machine with'parts broken away better to illustrate the invention and with the turntable I52 shown in Fig. 3 omitted;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 6--6 of Fig. 4 in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line l-l of Fig. 2 in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 8 is a view taken substantially on the line 8--8 of Fig. 3 in the direction indicated by the arrows and showing in detail the path of travel of the cans;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 9-9 of Fig. 4 in the direction indicated by the arrows and showing the filling trough and agitator bars;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 2 showing the compression pistons in dotted lines and with the side wall of the filling trough removed to better illustrate the agitator bars and the screw conveyor for the flake tuna;

Fig. 11 is a top plan view of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line |2|2 of Fig. 10 in the direction indicated by the arrows to illustrate the construction of the compression cylinder or chamber and associated parts; and

Fig. 13 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line I3-l3 of Fig. 4 in the direction indicated by the arrows.

While the machine of my invention has been primarily designed for the purpose of packing flake tuna, which is relatively moist and capable of being compressed into a cake, the machine of my invention may be also used for the purpose of packing other materials of somewhat similar character.

Referring to Fig. 1, the flake tuna is dumped into a hopper l6 and falls by gravity therefrom into a filling trough I! (see also Fig. 10). The

filling trough is relatively long, extending throughout the major portion of one side of the machine, as shown in Fig. 2. This, as will presently appear, is important as it gives a relatively long straight run at the filling position of the compression chambers or cylinders, making it possible to completely fill each compression chamber without excessive agitation of the tuna. Excessive agitation is likely to beat the tuna into a pulpy mass and its is a particular object of my invention to handle the tuna gently so as not to break down its character as flake tuna. The sidewalls of the filling trough slope inward and downward, as shown most clearly in Figs. 7 and 9.

Carried by the end walls of the filling trough are bearings which support a shaft 18. The shaft 8 is driven by a motor is (Fig. 2) which is connected to the shaft by means of sprockets and a chain 2|. Mounted on the shaft 18 are a pair of U-shaped agitator bars 22, the purpose of which is". ,to"relati'vely gently agitate the tuna as drops in'tothe filling trough so as to distribute it into the compression chambers or cylinders presently described. Also mounted on the shaft 18 is a helical screw conveyor 23, the pitch and direction of rotation of which is such that flake tuna is carried from left to right of the machine, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 10. In the" schematic showing of Fig. 1 which may be considered as a linear development of the machine the movement of the materials after they are in the pressure chambers presently .to be described is from left to right as viewed in that-figure.

.j'Ifhe machine includes a base generally indicated by the numeral 24, a support plate 26, .a support plate 21;;and support plates 28 and 29 (see Fig. 3)., In l parts have been broken away to show the four main support plates of the-"machine. Support plate 21 is carried by columns 3-l mounted on supportplate 2.6. 'I'he plates 26 and 21, together with one'of,the u pportingfiolumns 3| isshown in section .in Fig. 77. P latesza and 2 9 are-supported from :the plate 21 bymeans of pedestals 32 and-by staybolts;.3 3 which extend from the plate 25 (see Figs. 2

and 3), v v

-Qarried,by suitable support in the base of the machine (Fig. 3) is a motor 36 which drives a sprocket 3'! which through a chain 38 drives a sprocket 39. The sprocket 39 loosely mounted on-a shaft ll which. is suitably journaled in the; support plates 26 and 21. as indicateolatJlZ (see also Fig. The sprocket 39 is connected to the shaft by means of a clutch 43, the clutch elements of which are frictionally connected together by-a clutch shifter 44 operated by a hand control 46 (see also Fig. 2). A pair of sprockets 41 rotate with shaft 4| being keyed thereto-i (Fig; 5) and drive special chains Mi. which pass over sprockets 49 mounted on a shaft 5!:15 The shaft 51. 'is also iournaled in the plates ZGiar-id :21, -as;indicat ed at 52. Each set. of sprockets is rigidly connected together by couplers- 50=(-Figs. -5 andIG) whe special'chains are shown most clearly in" Figs. 5, 6 and '7 and include the usual cylindrical driving'roller 53 which is engaged bythe teeth of the sprockets Aland i9 and the convention'al -a'oller dink of a standard roller chain. A pair of U-shaped links 54 are pivotly connected tbethe-facesrof the roller links of each chain by conventional side plate pins. A mold unit .55 (Fig. 7.) is connected as for example byscrews, as shown-in Fig. 12, to the mounting faces-iof each set of-four U-shaped links 54. The adjacent U-shaped links 54 are not connected .to each other so that they are-.free to shift angularly m'th respect to each other as the chain passes around .the sprockets.

As shown in Fig. '7. carried by the supporting columnson the front and. back of the machine is a'rail 55 over which the facing U-shapedlinks 54 run. The purpose of the rails is to maintain the mold units in alignment with each other particularly duringthe straight runs of the mold units and in alignment with the filling trough during filling of the mold units.

As shown most clearly in Fig. 12, the mold units 56 each include a cylindrical compre s on chamber or cylinder 51, a front opening 58 forming an entry way for the cans as will presently appear, a piston seat 59 and a cylindrical piston guide 6|. The rear Wall of the mold unit is slotted, as shown at 62, the purpose of which will later appear. The piston guide 6| is slotted at 631 to-receive a guide -rib 64- formed on the piston 66 (Fig. 5)... The piston has an enlarged head 61 which in the retracted position lies on the seat 59, as shown in Fig. 6. As shown most clearly in Fig. 5, the piston 66 at its lower end is bifurcated. as shown at 68, to receive a shaft 69 which carries an inner roller H and an outer roller 12. 1

Referrin now to Fig. 2, the pistons 66 are actuated'by a series of cams. At the left of Fig. 2 which we will term the beginning of the cycle, the outer rollers 12 ride on a cam 8| which rises steeply, as shown in the drawings, to raise the pistons 66 so that the pistons 'closejthelower ends of thecompression chambers 5 I."" 'Ihe rpllers then ride along a straight"section of a cam 82 during the filling operation. The rollers [2 then ride upward on a cam 83 which Ish'all" cell, r. uvl nis a. a r sompre sion ap-1a,. I 2w n;Fisz' i' il hj s i". a d he an ."ar "ad stab ime n i ownw zd cam 3 is o f ..-conven ience,.call a cant. Aswill' pjr'sntly appear; the trimming'cam has an accurate; and. fine adjustment 'to adjustthaivol-I. ume'of material in the 'com 'rss'ieni chambers. and hence the weight. From the-"trimming'cam 88 -the-rollersf12 ride on to a senil -circular cairi 9 The cam '9 I is shown in sectioninlFl'g. 13. and as show'nin that view is supported by. .'threaded elements .9; which extendthrough the supportf platejfi and, after adjustmentby adjustinglthe screw. upward or downward, may be. locked li'n positionby nuts .93. k The outer rollers, after passing. around. semiwircular cam 9|. (see Fig. 3)., entep -a posi; tion such-.that the inner rollers H enter ,the track of a cam -96.(Fig. 3)-. The cam.95I will for purposes of convenience, ca1l the piston with drawal. cam; The cam 96 is relatively-long: andis slightly inclined downward through the major; part ofits length so that the pistons 66' are withdrawn gradually; for a purpose which wilLpresently appear. The cam 96 is turned downward sharply at 91 towithdraw the :piston rapidly from the position shown at the left-in -'7- to the dotted line positionshown atthe left in Fig. 6. This action permits a can to enter the mold unit through the entrance opening 58 (Fig. 12). and seat on the top ofthe enlarged.

part 61 of the piston 66, as shown at the-right in Fig. 6. After the inner roller -H. leaves the cam 96, the associated piston is .-in a fully. retracted position and is not controlled by a cam until theouterroller again engages the cam 8i (Fig.2).

The .long cam 95, is bolted to one ofthe columns 3|, as shown at l0| (Fig. 3). At its other end the long cam 96 is bolted tothe semi-circular cam 9|, as shown at I02. The long cam.;96.m ay be juste u ward. or downw d by adjustment of thesemi-circular cam 9I.=,. as previously explained in connection with the descriptionof. Fig; 13. Thus the cam 96 always remains. in a position to receive the inner roller after the outer roller leaves the semi-circular cam; 9I, notwithstanding any adjustment of the semi-circular cam 9 I.

Keyed to the drive shaft 4|, as shown at I06 (Fig. is a turret I01. The turret I01 hasa plurality of bores I08 adapted to receive upper compression plungers or pistonsI09'. The ,plung-.

ers I09 aresimilar-to the pistons 86 and includeenlarged faces III and ribs II2- which mate with grooves (not shown) formed inthe bores. I08 ofthe turret- I01.

At-their upper ends each of theplungers- I09 is bifurcated to receive a shaft II3 which carries a pair of rollers Ill and H8. The inner rollers I I8 ride on a cam II I which is circular. as shown in Fig. 3. Theouter rollers H4. duringaportion.

of their circular path of movement with the turret- I01, ride on a compression cam H8. The; cam III is bolted to angle-plates II9 which. are

rigidly carried by the top plate 28, asshownv at;-

I2I (Fi 5).

As shown most clearly in Fig. 13, thecompression cam H8 is carried by a plurality-of; bolts I22, the heads of which engage a pressure plate I23. A sleeve I24 encircling the. boltbears against.

the cam H8 and against the lower-face of the pressure plate I23. Ihreadedinto. the support plate 28 are a pair of bolts I26 which extend through bores in. thepressure plate I23. Washers. I21 which engage the nuts of the bolts serve as backin s; for springsv I28. Thus the plate I23 floats and is urged into engagement with the support plate 28 by the-springs I28. With this, construction, as will presently appear, the com pression force exerted on the tuna during its compression into cake'form. is slightly yielding.

Referring now to Fig. 6, the shaft 5 I carried keyed thereto, as shown at or plungers I33 which have enlarged ends I34 and are-provided with ribs I38 which ride in guide slots (not shown). Carried by the plungers I33 are shafts I31 which ridein a cam groove I38 provided in a circular camplate I39. The cam plate I39 is carried by angular brackets I4I which are bolted, as shown at I42, to the support plate 29.

In Fig. 8 I have shown the path of movement of the cans. The cans enter the machine through a can chute I43 which is conventional in construction and need not be further described. The cans enter on a can platform I41 which is supported by brackets I48 carried by support rods (Fig. 3) I49 extending upward from the support plate 28. The cans enter the mold units, through the entrance openings 58 (Fig. 12,) and are pushed into the pockets or saddles immediately under the cylindrical parts of the mold units by the weight of the cans in the chute. The cans are carried with the mold units in this position while the ejecting plungers I33 transfer the molded compressed material from the cylinder or compression chamber into the can. After the ejecting plungers are withdrawn sufficiently to clear the top edge of the can, a can ejector I5I pushes the filled can on to a can turntable I52.

The can ejector I5I is pivoted at I53 to a pivot support I54 (Fig. 3) which is carried by a band I58 bolted to one of the supporting columns 3I. The can ejector has a tail piece I51 adapted to receive the end of a spring I58, the other-end I3I, aturret I32. The, turret I32 is bored to receive a plurality of pistons I58. and as scenes the can ejector comes in registry with the slot 62 (Fig. 12) in the mold unit, the spring I58 forces the can ejector to the dottedline position shown in Fig. 8 to eject the can on; to the turntable I52.

- The turntable may be mounted on a shaft I61 (Fig. 2) which. extends through a'supporting col.-

umn. I102: carried by a bracket I63 extending from.

the supporting base, of the machine. The. shaft I.6.I may be-,dr iyen1by achain and sprocket (not shown) from. the shaft 5i. Extending from flange on, the supporting column are a pair of bars I86. which carry a can guard I61 to preventthe cans from .being discharged centrifugally from the-turntable I52. The cans are discharged from the turntable by an arm I68 which, discharges; the cans'on to a suitable conveyor (not Shown,

As, shown in Fig. 8, as the cans are rotated with the mold units, they are held in position by a can guard III. This can guard is pivoted at Il2to one of the staybolts 33 and is cut out; at I'M to extend, around another staybolt so that the inner edge-of the can guard will lie close to the p pheries-of the cans. At the positi n approximating I'I-B; the-guard engages the side wall of the. can soas to insure hat; the can is again t th vertical walls ofthe mold unit and in positive alignment with the associated compression chamber. Thecan uard may be shifted to, theposition shown indotted line, in Fig. 8 for the purpose of enablingaccess to the cans incase one of them becomes jammed or bent during its passage through the can chute and the machine.

In Fig. l I have schematically illustrated the operation of the machine of my invention in which the somewhat oval path through which the mold units travel has been rolled out better to illustrate the operation of the machine. During the filling operation which is shown at the left of Fig.- 1, the outer rollers I2 are riding along the straight portion of the cam 82. The molds e d' y t e brushing action of the U-shaped agitator bars 22 which loosely fills the compression chambers of the mold units with the flake material as they are successively presented to filling position. As the compression chambers travel to the rightthey are furtherfilled, if necessary, by the action of the screw or helical conveyor- 23.

- After being loosely filled, the rollers 12 ride on the cam 83, a knife I8I is provided above the mold units-which, as the compression chambers pass over the edge, scrapes oil the loose material. Thereafter, while the rollers are passing over the high point of the cam 83, the pistons in the compression chambers are pre-compressing the flake material against the extension of the knife I8I. This pro-compression may be made any desired amount by adjusting the position of the cam 83 upward or downward as previously described. This pro-compression of the material is for the purpose of imparting a substantially uniform density to the mass of material in the compression chamber.

Afterleaving the cam 83, the rollers ride on the high point 89- of-the cam 88, the pistons are raised slightly so as to raise the partly compressed material in the mold chambers just slightly to enable a second knife I82 to cut off a thin slice of the-partially compressed cake.

7% This trimming operation is for the purpose of securing accurate weight by accurately controlling volume of the partially compressed flake material in the mold. By trimming applicant means that the material is removed and not that thesurface of the material is merely smoothed.

---To assure accurate control of volume and therefore weight and also to permit adjustment of the volume and weight of the final cake to be placed in the can an accurate and fine adjustment of the cam 88 is provided, which as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, includes an eccentric strap l83 pivoted to the cam 88 and pivotally connectedeccentrically to a rotatable element I84" Rigidly connected to the rotatable element I84 'isa pointer I86 which may be shifted with respect to a graduated segment dial I81.

"zone of the important features of my invention is-that the machine may be adjusted for filled weight of the can while the machine is in operation, that is, with flake material supplied in sufllcient quantity to loosely fill each of the compression chambers and with a predetermined pro-compression pressure applied to the pistons b ythe cam 83 against the extension of the knife I 8I the cans may be weighed as they come ofi th'emachine. If the filled cans areslightly underweight or overweight, the pointer I86 may be-rotated while the machine is in operation to decrease the amount of trim and therefore increase' the weight of the cake placed in the can or increase the trim to decrease the weight of the cake placed in the can.

"afterleaving the trimming knife, the mold units enter positions in alignment with the bores ln the compression turret I01. During travel iiialignment with the compression turret, the rollers are riding on the cam 9| in which position' the pistons 66 are held at a constant level. although this level is adjustable, as previously described, While the mold units are in alignment with the turret I01 the rollers H4 of the pistons 109 are acted upon by the spring loaded cam H8 to compress the flake material into a cake of predetermined thickness. The thickness of the-cake is dependent upon the weight of the cake desired, the pressure exerted by the cam I-l8-an'd the position of adjustment of the cam 9 l InIany event, it will be appreciated that any desired-weight of the cake within the limits of the machine may be formed and that this cake may be molded at a desired pressure in accordance with the character of the tuna being packed. At times the tuna is more oily than at other timesand the various adjustments of the machinedescribed are necessary to maintain substantiallyzconstant weight and in order to secure a cake which will be retained in the compression chambers without support when the lower compression pistons are removed upon riding into the track of the cam 96. The compression pressure shouldalso be not so great as to cause the material to lose an appreciable amount of oil or, moisture.

. In Fig. 1 the length of the cam groove 96 has notbeeneshown. However, the longgradually sloping portion of the cam groove 96 is shown in; Fig. 3. The purpose of the relatively long cam groove 96 and its gradually downwardly sloping character is to insure that the pistons will-notbe withdrawn too rapidly so as to create a-msuetion likely to pull with it material from the cake or likely to draw the entire cake down with. it;

co-pending application filed simulta terlals, pre-compressing said materials to form a neously herewith, Serial'No. 774,625, filed-September 17, 1947 (now abandoned), I have shown a form of piston which may be advantageously employed with the machine of my inventionso as to prevent particles of the flake material from adhering to the pistons.

The pistons are then pulled downward when.

the rollers reach the part 91 of the cam 96, acan is dropped into the mold unit in the manner pre-', viously described and the mold units are brought.

into alignment with the bores in the turret I32.

At the proper position in the rotation of the turret I32, the plunger I33 is actuated by the caml38 and the compressed cake of flake material is pushed into the can. Because the cakes are all molded it is only necessary for the pistons to push the cakes free of the compressionchambers and no packing pressure is required on the cans. It is usual to'put oilin the can prior to filling the can with tuna although this may be done afterwards In any event when the-can is-sealed-with= oil, the user may open the can and upon invert-- ing the can the tuna will drop out of the can as amolded cake.- 1

While I have shown and described -the' pre:-1

ferred method-and apparatus of :my invention, it will be apparentthat various changes-and mod ifications may-be made the'rein, particularlyin' th'e formarid relation of parts,'without departing from the spirit'of my" invention as set forth in the appended claims;

Iclaimz' a 1;" 1. A method of packing a'pr'edetermined weight of moist, 'fiak'y materials in a container which comprises loosely filling a chamber'with said ma= terials, compressingsaid' materials suflicientl'y to' form a mass of substantially uniform density,-

trimming said mass to a predetermined'thiclF- ness, thereafter compressing said mass into a cake" of sufiicient rigidity and cohesiveness that it will adhere to the walls' of the chamber without other support and transferring said cake to the container in cake form.

2. A method of packing a predetermined weight of moistfflaky materials in a container which comprises loosely filling a chamber With'said ma terials, pie-compressing said materials to form a: mass of substantially uniform density, trimming said mass to a predetermined thickness, and

thereafter compressing said mass into al' akeiofsufficient rigidity and cohesiveness that when placed in a container with oil it retains its cake form and when the container is opened for use of the material, upon inverting the container, the cake will drop from the container in cake form.

3. A method of packing a predetermined weight. of moist, flaky materials in a container which comprises loosely filling a chamber with said macompression chambers through a path of travel,

means for filling said chambers with the material to be packed, a piston movable with each of said compression chambers throughout their path of travel, a plunger, means for moving said plunger through a path of travel at least a part of which coincides with the path of travel of said chambers, and means for moving said plunger into a chamber to compress the material to be packed between the plunger and the piston.

5. A machine for packing materials in a container comprising, in combination, a series of compression chambers, means for moving said compression chambers through a path of travel, means for filling said chambers with the material to be packed, a piston movable with each-of said compression chambers throughout their path of travel, means for moving said pistons relative to said chambers, aseries of plungers, means for moving said plungers through a path of travel at least a part of which coincides with the path of travel chambers, and means for moving said plungers into and out of said chambers to compress the material to be packed between the plungers and the pistons, means for feeding containers to positions in alignment with said chamhers and means for forcing the material out of said chambers into the containers.

6. A machine for packing materials in a container comprising. in combination, a series of compression chambers, means for moving said compression chambers through an endless approximately'ovalpath of travel, a piston movable with each of said chambers throughout the path of travel, means for moving said pistons into and out of said chambers, means for filling said chambers with the material to be packed, a turret at each end of the oval, plungers carried by said turrets, means for rotating said turrets in synchronism with the movement of said chambers, means for moving said plungers into and out of said chambers, the plungers of one of said turrets cooperating with said pistons to compress the material in the chambers, and means for feeding the containers to a position in alignment with the said chambers adjacent said other turret, the

plungers of said second turret serving to force the compressed materials from the chamber into the containers.

7. A machine for packing materials in-a container comprising, in combination, a series -of compression chambers, means for moving said compression chambers through an endless approximately oval path of travel, a piston movable with each of said chambers throughout the path of travel, means for moving said pistons into and out of said chambers, means for filling said chambers with the material to be packed, means for trimming off a silght amount of said material to bring said material substantially to a predetermined weight," a turret at-each end of the oval, plungers carried by said turrets, means for rotating said turrets in synchronism with the movement of said chambers, means for moving said plungers into and out of said chambers. the plungers of one of said turrets cooperating with said pistons to compress the material in the chambers, and means for feeding the containers to a position in alignment with the said chambers adjacent said other turret, the plungers ofsaid second turret serving to force the compressed materials from the chambers into the containers.

'8. A method of packing a predetermined weight of moist, flaky materials in a container which comprises loosely filling a chamber with said materials from-above the chamber, compressing said materials sufliciently to form a mass of sub stantially uniform density by pressure'applied below the materials, thereafter compressing said .mass into a cake of predetermined dimensions 5 and of suflicient rigidity and cohesiveness that it will adhere to the walls of the chamber without other support and transferring said cake to the container in cake form and with substantially said predetermined dimensions.

9. A method of packing a predeterminedweight -of materials in a container which comprises loosely filling a chamber with said materials, precompressing said materials to form a mass of substantially uniform density and predetermined volume, removing from said-mass excess-material ;-so that themass isof a predetermined thickness to bring the mass to substantially a predeter- .mined weight, and thereafter compressing said grass ;a cake, said precompressing and compressing steps being both carried out while the materials are maintained in continuous motion.

1 0. A method of packing a predetermined weight of-materials in a container which comprises loosely filling a chamber with an unpredetermined weight of said materials, precompressing said materials to form a mass of substantially uniform density and predetermined volume,;removing from said mass excess material ,so that the mass is of a predetermined thickness 30 to bring the mass to -substantially a predeter- 'mined.weight, compressing said mass into a cake a nd"trans'ferring the compressed cake to a container, said precompressing, removing, compressingand transferring steps being caried outwhile ,thematerials are maintained in continuous mo.-

tion.

1 1. A method of packing a predetermined desired weight of materials in a container which comprises'loosely filling a chamber with an unpredetermined weight of materials from above thephamber and at least partly by gravity, precompressing said materials sufiiciently to form a mass of substantially uniform density and predetermined volume, trimming said mass to a predetermined thickness to obtain substantiallysaid -predetermined desired weight ofmaterials, thereafter compressing said materials to a desired thickness-less than the height of the container --which they are'to occupy and transferring the compressed materials to a-container while they are in a compressed condition, said-precompressing, trimming compressing and transferring steps beingcarried out while the materials are-maintained continuously in motion in a path of -movement.

l2. Amethod of packing a predetermineddesired weight of materials in a container which --comprises looselyfilling a chamber with an un .predetermined weight of materials, precompressing said materials sufliciently to form a mass-of substantially uniform density, trimming -said' pressing, trimmingandcompressing steps being,

carried out while thematerials are -maintained continuously in motion-in-a path-of movement, moving a container into said-path ofmovement and into alinement with said chamber, and

transferring the ;materials --to said container while the materialsandthe container are maintained-in motion -in--said path of movement.

13.-A-machine for packing materials in-a container comprising, in combination, a seriesof compression chambers, means for moving said compression chambers through a path of travel, means for filling said chambers with material at least partly by gravity, a piston movable with each of said compression chambers throughout their path of travel, plungers on the opposite sides of said material from the pistons, means for moving said plungers through a path of travel only a part of which coincides with the path of travel of said chambers, and means for moving said pistons and plung'ers simultaneously into and out of pressure engagement with the materials, said filling and compressing operations being carried out while said compression chambers are continuously moved through their path of travel. r

14. A machine for packing materials in a container comprising, in' combination, a series of compression chambers, means for moving said compression chambers through a path of travel, means for filling said chambers with material, a piston movable with each of said compression chambers throughout their path of travel, plungers on the opposite sides of said material from the pistons, means for moving said plungers through a path of travel only a part of which coincides with the path" of travel of said chambers, means for moving said pistons and plungers into and out of pressure engagement with the materials, means for inserting a container between each chamber and its associated piston after the pistonhas been withdrawn from engagement with the material and while the chamber is continuously moving through said path of travel, a second set of plungers, means for moving said second set of plungers through a path of travel only part of which coincides with the path of travel of said chambers, and means for moving said second set of plungers into "the chambers to eject the materials therefrom.

15. A machine for packing materials in a container comprising, in combination, a series of compression chambers, means for moving said compression chambers through a path of travel, means for loosely filling the chambers each with an unpredetermined weight of materials means movable with the chambers for precompressing said materials sufiiciently to form a mass of substantially uniform density and predetermined volume, means for trimming said mass to a predetermined thickness to obtain a substantially predetermined desired weight of materials, means movable with the chambers and including at least a part of said precompressing means for engaging the materials on both sides thereof while in the chambers and compressing the materials to a desired thickness less than the height of the containers which they are to occupy, said filling, precompressing, trimming and compressing means being operable while said chambers are maintained in continuous motion through said path of travel, means for successively moving containers into said path of travel and into alinement with said chambers, and means movable with the chambers through at least part of their path of travel for transferring the materials to said containers while the materials and containers are maintained in motion in said path of travel.

16. A method of packing a predetermined weight of moist, flaky materials in a container which comprises loosely filling a chamber with said materials, precompressing said materials to v weight ofmaterials in a container which comprises loosely overfilling a chamber with said materials, reducing the volume whichsaid materials may occupy'by an action which enables gravity at least to assist in filling voids in the chamber and expel air from the massto form a cylindrical mass of approximately uniform density, thereafter compressing said mass while wholly in the chamber into a cake by pressure applied axially of the cylindrical mass and thereafter transferring the compressed cake in cake form to a container, said volume reducing, compressing and transferring steps being carried out while the materials are maintained in continuous motion through a path of travel.

18. A method of packing "a predetermined wei ht of moist pieces of material in a container, the materials being of such character that the pieces tend to adhere to each other; whichycomprises loosely filling a chamben'withpieces I of said material} compressing; thepieces sufiiciently to form amass of substantiallyuniform density and simultaneously expel air from said mass, removing from said mass excess material so that the mass is of "a predetermined thickness,-thereafter compressing said mass while-wholly in-thc chamber into a-cake of suflicient-wigidity and cohesiveness that it will adhere-to the walls of the chamber without other support, "and transferring said cake to the container in cake form.

19. A method of packing a predetermined weight of materials in a container which comprises looselyoverfilling a chamber-having fixed cylindrical walls at least partly by gravity with anunpredeterminedweightof materials,- at least lightly compressing said materialsbya force applied-axially of said-chamber and in a direction opposed to the action of gravity on the material and sufficiently to form a cylindrical mass of approximately uniforrn-density and' predetermined volume, removing excess material from at least one end of said cylindrical -mass=to form a cylinder of material which is-.;0i; subetam ally .predetermined thickness and weight, and continuously moving said materials through ,a path of movement during the compressing step andthe removal of excessmaterialw 20. A method of packing a predetermined weight of materialsgin a; contamer avhich comprises loosely filling a chamber having fixed cylindrical walls a ile stp rtl y rav y withtan unpredetermined weight of materials, at least lightly precompressing said materials ,bya force applied axially of said chamber and-@ufiiciently to form; a cylindrical mass of substantially uniform density and predetermined volume, removing excess material from at leastoneiendof said cylindrical mass to form a cylinder ofmaterial which is of substantially'predetermmed thickness and weight, thereafter compressing said mass into a cake and then transferring the-cake to a container, the pressure for forming saidmaterials into a cake being applied axially of the material and being suflicient so that the cake is cohesive and will adhere to the cylindrical walls of the chamber without further support and when placed in a container with oil it retains its cake form and is of substantially the same thick ness as the thickness to which it was compressed and when the container is opened for use of the material upon inverting the container the cake will drop from the container as a cake of substantially the same thickness as the thickness to which it was compressed.

21. In a method of packing a predetermined weight of pieces of food material which are moist and cohesive in a container, the steps of compressing the material in a chamber which is of smaller cross-sectional area than the cross-sectional area of the container which the material is to occupy and which has rigid walls enclosing the material except for two axially open ends, the compressing pressure being applied axially of said chamber and with suflicient force to compress the material into a cake of predetermined thickness and of suflicient rigidity and cohesiveness that the cake will be held by the walls .of the chamber without other support and will substantially retain the dimensions to which it was compressed, and depositing said cake in'acontainer, said compression ofthe material, retention of the cake by the walls of the chamber and deposit of the cake in the container being carried out while the chambers are being moved continuously through a fixed path of travel, said cake being deposited in the container in compressedcake form so that when the container is opened and the container inverted the contents of the container will drop out of the container as a cake of substantially the same dimensions as the dimensions to which the cake was.compressed.

22. In a method of packing a predetermined weight of pieces of food material which are moist and cohesive in a container, the steps of compressing the material in a chamber which is of smaller cross-sectional area than the cross-sectional area of the container which the material is to occupy and which has rigid walls enclosing the material except for two axially open ends, the compressing pressure being applied axially of said chamber and with sufiicient force to compress the material into a cake of predetermined thickness and of suflicient rigidity and cohesiveness that the cake will be held by the walls of the chamber without other support and will substantially retain the dimensions to which it was compressed, and depositing said cake in a container, said compression of the material, retention of the cake by the walls of the chamber and deposit of the cake in the container being carried out while the chambers are being moved continuously through a fixed path of travel, said cake being deposited in the container in compressed cake form so that when oil is placed in the container the oil flows around the exterior of the cake and protects the cake during retorting and when the container is opened and the container inverted the contents of the container will drop out of the container as a cake of substantially the same dimensions as the dimensions to' which. the cake was compressed.

23. In a machine for packing material in a container, means for obtaining a substantially constant predetermined weight of material for deposit in each of a series of said containers comprising a series of chambers movable continunuslythroughza path of traveL;said-.chambers 14 having fixed walls which enclose the material ori all sides except for the upper and lower ends which are open, a piston movable with each of said chambers through said path of travel and extending through the lower open ends of the chambers, said material being deposited in the chambers at least partly by gravity through the upper open ends of the chambers with the position of the pistons determining the volume of the chambers, means for moving said pistons into the chambers a predetermined amount to reduce the volume of the chambers which the material may occupy, said piston action assisted at least partly by gravity tending to fill voids in the chamber, means past which the upper open ends of the chambers pass during movement through their path of travel for removing excess material, and

means for moving said chambers continuously through said path of travel.

24. In a machine for packing material in a container, means for obtaining a substantially constant predetermined weight of material for deposit in each of a series of said containers comprising a series of chambers movable continuously through a path of travel, said chambers having fixed walls which enclose the material on all sides except for the upper and lower ends which are open, a piston movable with each of said chambers through said path of travel and extending through the lower open ends of the chambers, said material being deposited in the chambers at least partly by gravity through the upper open ends of the chambers with the position of the pistons determining the volume of the chambers, means for moving said pistons into the chambers a predetermined amount to reduce the volume of the chambers which the material may occupy, said piston action assisted at least partly by gravity tending to fill voids in the chamber, means past which the upper open ends of the chambers pass during movement through their path of travel for removing excess material, a series of plungers movable through at least part of said path of travel, means for compressing the material in each of said chambers between a piston and a plunger into a cake of approximately predetermined weight, means for transferring the material in each of said chambers in cake form to a container, and means for moving said chambers continuously through said path of travel.

25. A method of packing a predetermined weight of materials in a container which comprises overfilling a chamber with a weight of materials in excess of the amount to be placed in the container, removing substantially said excess to bring the weight of. materials in the chamber substantially to the desired weight, compressing said materials into a cake while wholly in the chamber, positioning a container in alignment with the chamber, transferring the cake from the chamber to the container and varying the volume of said chamber to vary the volume which the materials may occupy during overfilling to obtain more nearly the desired predetermined weight oi' materials to be placed in the container.

26. A method of packing a predetermined weight of materials in a container which mmpris'es overfllling a chamber with a weight of materialsinexcessottheamounttobeplacedin the container, removing substantially said excess to bring the weight of material in the chamber substantially to the desired weight, compressing id materials into a cake while wholly inthe -volume of the chamber being carried -out while the materials are moved continuously through a path of travel. 27. A method of packing a predetermined weight of materials in a container which comprises overfilling a chamber with aweight of materials in excess of the amountto placed in the container, removing substantially said excess to bring the weight-of material. in :the chamber substantially to the desired weight, compressing said materials into acake while whql1y,.= in,.the

chamber, positioning a container in alignment,

with the chamber, transferring the cake from the chamber to the container and varyin the volume of materials to be compressed into a cake to control weight and obtain more nearly the desired predetermined weight of materials to be placed in the container, all of said steps including the controlling of weight being carried out while the materials are moved continuously through a path of travel.

28. A method of packing a predetermined weight of materials in a container which comprises filling' a chamber with said materials in an amount in excess of the weight to be placed in the container while simultaneously app ying pressure on the materials to fill voids in the chamber and expel air. reducing the volume of the chamber which the materials may occupy while removing the excess materials to obtain substantially the desired weight to be placed in the container, compressing said materials into a cake while wholly in the chamber, positioning a container in alignment with the chamber and transferring the cake from the chamber to the container.

29. A method or packing a predetermined weight of materials in a container which comprises filling a chamber with said materials in an amount in excess of the weight to be placed in the container while simultaneously applying pressure on the materials to fill voids in the chamber and expel air, reducing the volume of the chamber which the materials may occupy while removing the excess materials to obtain substantially the desired weight to be placed in the container, compressing said materials into a cake while wholly in the chamber, positioning a container in alignment with the chamber, transferring the cake from the chamber to the container and adjusting the amount of said reduction in volume of said chamber to obtain more nearly the desired predetermined weight of materials to be placed in the container, all of said steps including varying the volume of the chamber being carried out while the materials are moved continuously through a path of travel.

30. A method of packing a predetermined weight of materials in a container which comprises filling a chamber with said materials in an amount in excess of the weight to be placed in the container while simultaneously applying pressure on the materials to fill voids in the chamber and expel air, reducing the volume of the chamber which the materials may occupy while removing the excess materials to obtain substantially the desired weight to be placed in the container, compressing said materials into a cake while wholly in the chamber, positioning a. container in alignment with the chamber, transferring the cake from the chamber to the container and varying the volume of materials to be compressed into a cake to control weight and obtain more nearly .the desired predetermined weight of materialsrto be: ,placed' in the container, all of said steps including the controlling of weight being carried out while the materials are moved continuously through a path of travel.

.-.;:31-.-;A method of packing a predetermined weight 'of materials in a container which comprisesfilling achamber with said materials in an amount irnexcess, of the weight to be placed in the container while simultaneously applying pressure on the materials-t0: fill voids invthe chamber and -expelair, removing substantially the .excess materials to obtain substantially the desiredweight to bezplaced in the container, compressing said materials into a cake while wholly in the chamber, positioning a container in alignment with the chamber, transferring the cake from the chamber to the container and varying the amount of excess materials removed to obtain more nearly the desired predetermined weight of materials to be placed in the container, all of said steps including varying the amount of excess materials removed being carried out while the materials are moved continuously through a path of travel. '1

32. A method 10f packing a predetermined weight of materials in a container which comprises filling a chamber with said materials in an amount in excess of theweight to be placed in the container while simultaneously applying pressure on the materials to fill voids in the chamber and expel air, removing substantially the excess materials to obtain substantially the desired weight to be placed in th container, compressing said materials into a cake while wholly in the chamber, positioning a container in alignment with the chamber, transferring the cake from the chamber to the container and varying the volume of materials to be compressed into a cake to control weight and obtain more nearly the desired predetermined weight of materials to be placed in the container, all of said steps including the controlling of weight being carried out while the materials are moved continuously through a path of travel.

33. A method of packing a predetermined weight of materials in a container which comprises the steps of filling a chamber with said materials in an amount in excess of the weight to b placed in the container while simultaneously applying pressure on the materials to fill voids in the chamber and expel air, removing substantially the excess materials to obtain substantially the desired weight to be placed in the container, compressing said materials into a cake while wholly in the chamber, positioning a container in alignment with the chamber, transferring the cake from the chamber to th container and adjusting the volume of said chamber so that a different volume may be available for material during the carrying out of at least one of said first two steps to obtain more nearly the desired predetermined weight of materials to be placed in the container.

34. A method of packing a predetermined weight of materials in a container which comprises filling a chamber with said materials in an amount in excess of the weight to be placed in the container while simultaneously applying pressure on the materials to fill voids in the chamber and expel air, removing substantially the excess materials to obtain substantially the desired weight to be placed in the container, positioning a container in alignment with the chamber, transferring the materials from the chamber to the container and varying the volume of materials to which pressure is applied to control weight and obtain more nearly the desired predetermined weight of materials to be placed in the container, all of said steps including the controlling of weight being carried out while the materials are moved continuously through a path of travel.

35. A method of packing a predetermined weight of materials in a container which comprises filling a chamber with said materials in an amount in excess of the weight to be placed in the container while simultaneously applying pressure on the materials to fill voids in the chamber and expel air, reducing the volume of '3 the chamber which the materials may occupy while removing the excess materials to obtain substantially the desired weight to be placed in the container, positionin a container in alignment with the chamber, transferring the materials from the chamber to the container and adjusting the amount of said reduction in volume of said chamber to obtain more nearly the desired predetermined weight of materials to be placed in the container, all of said steps including varying the volume of the chamber being carried out while the materials are moved continuously through a path of travel.

36. A method of packing a predetermined desired weight of materials in a container which comprises loosely filling a chamber with an unpredetermined weight of materials from above the chamber and at least partly by gravity, precompressing said materials while in the chamber sufiiciently to form a mass of substantially uniform density and predetermined volume, and removing from said mass excess material so that the mass remaining in the chamber is of a predetermined thickness to obtain substantially said predetermined desired weight of materials.

37. A method of packing a predetermined de" sired weight of materials in a container which comprises loosely filling a chamber with an unpredetermined weight of materials from above the chamber and at least partly by gravity, precompressing said materials while in the chamber sufficiently to form a mass of substantially uniform density and predetermined volume, removing from said mass excess material so that the mass remaining in the chamber is of a predetermined thickness to obtain substantially said predetermined desired weight of materials, and

thereafter compressing said materials to a desired thickness less than the height of the container which they are to occupy.

38. A method of packing a predetermined desired weight of materials in a container which comprises loosely filling a chamber with an un- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,757,370 Kilian May 6, 1930 2,044,813 Rooney June 23, 1936 2,274,606 Christiansen Feb. 24, 1942 2,336,415 Nordquist et a1 Dec. 7, 1943 2,340,637 Bauer Feb. 1, 1944 2,433,061 Pearson et al Dec. 23, 1947 2,446,762 Hauck Aug. 10, 1948 2,503,295 Palmer Apr. 11, 1950 

